Signal-plate.



No. 640,:53. Patented Dec. 26, I899. I

E. E. YAXLEY &. c. c. CADDEN.

SIGNAL PLATE.

(Application filed Feb. 25, 1899.)

(N0 Modei.)

Er e s-Z Z717 @6322; 0 z f UNITED STATES PATENT OFEiCE.

EENEsTE. YAXLEY AND CHARLES C. CADDEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORSTO W. T. BLAINE, OF SAME PLACE.

SIG NAL-PLATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 640,153, dated December26, 1899.

Application filed February 25, 1899. Serial No. 706,816. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that W6,ERNEST E. YAXLEY and CHARLES C. OADDEN, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Annunciators,of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an improvement in annunciators; and our objectis to provide a construction of display-face on the drop as will adaptit to present to the line of vision of the operator atatelephone-switchboard or other device in connection with which ourimprovement is used one distinguishing characteristio, as a color, whenin its normal position and another distinguishing characteristic, as adifierent Color, when occupying its signaling position.

The accompanying drawing shows our improved device pivotally hung inoperative position on a support, with means for movingit to its displayposition, indicated by dotted lines, and for retracting it therefrom.

Ais a plate having its display-surface a serrated crosswise to afiordcorrespondingly-inclined faces a on corresponding sides of the teeth andthe oppositely-inclined faces a" on the oppositecorrespondingly-inclined sides of the teeth. The faces a are similarlycharacterized, as by coloring or painting them all alike or inalternating colors, and the faces a are similarly characterized, as bypainting them in alternating colors or all alike, but with a colordistinguished from that of the faces a.

The plate A is shown as pivotally hung 011 a board B, which may be atelephone-switchboard, on which our improvement would be used as anannunciator-drop connected with means for operating it, such as thesolenoid C shown, having its core 0 pivotally connected by a link 12,passing through an opening din the board, with the drop.

When the drop .is raised to the position in= dicated by the dottedrepresentation, it dis plays to the line of vision of the operator (in=dicated by the arrow) the surfaces a'say of one color--hiding from viewthe surfaces a and when the drop is lowered to the normal position, inwhich it is represented by full lines, it presents to the line of visionthe colored faces 00*, distinguished from the faces a, which are hiddenfrom view.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an annunciator, the combination with a support, of a droppivotally hung thereon, comprising a plate having its display-faceserrated to display the faces of corresponding sides of the teeth in oneposition of the plate and in the other position thereof, the faces ofthe opposite sides of the teeth being distinguishably characterized fromthe others, and means for raising and lowering the plate on its pivot tosaid positions.

2. In an annunciator, the combination with a support, of a droppivotally hung thereon, comprising a plate having the serrateddisplay-surface a with the sides a of the teeth suitably colored andtheir sides a colored distinguishably from said sides a, and means forraising and lowering the plate on its pivot to said positions.

. ERNEST E. YAXLEY.

CHAS. C. CADDEN. In presence of- R. T. SPENCER, D. W. LEE.

